Three years ago, this column celebrated a "Titan of Free Enterprise:" Milton Friedman, the 1976 Nobel Laureate in Economics.

After his death, the column read: "Everyone, it seems, acknowledges that Friedman was the rare social scientist and commentator who ... changed the world by the sheer force of his arguments."

One of the few other economists who could be described similarly was Paul A. Samuelson. Only the second scholar and the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics (in 1970), Samuelson was in many ways the father of modern economics.

His contributions still influence how we discuss the most pressing issues of the day, from health care reform to financial market regulation. Both of his early major works, the Foundations of Economic Analysis (1947) and his 1948 textbook "Economics: An Introductory Analysis," laid the basis for a concise mathematical language of economics.

As many commentators have pointed out through the decades - and reiterated after his death at age 94 last Sunday - his other groundbreaking contributions in such varied fields as welfare economics, consumer theory, public goods theory, financial economics (and many more) increased the public's awareness of the key role that economic policies play in everyday life.

He wrote of those things long before they were fashionable, and his work sold numerous paperback books.

Speaking of books, his 1948 manuscript, which has just been published in its 19th edition, is widely cited as the most successful economics textbook ever.

His acclaim in the economics profession and beyond is such that New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, last year's Nobel Laureate, said, "There has never been, and will never be, anyone to match him."

Like Friedman, Samuelson had a Newsweek column for many years, and he used it as a pulpit for evidence-based economic policies.

Unlike Friedman, he was a frequent critic of the idea that free markets left to their own devices would thrive. Their sometimes feisty but respectful debate on the role of government in a free market society had been relentless.

Earlier this year, in an interview (available at: http://tinyurl.com/ykgxpqq), Samuelson seemed to get in one last jab: "I wish Friedman were still alive so he could witness how his extremism led to the defeat of his own ideas."

Not many had or have the acumen to level such a devastating charge against one of the most accomplished economists of the past century. Samuelson was one of them.

Generations of interested citizens across the globe have learned from Samuelson and Friedman about the value of rigorous analysis of economic policies before they are put into effect. Both frequently defied the presumption that some type of liberal (Samuelson) or conservative (Friedman) proposal "surely" must gain their support. They were guided, most of the time, by solid theory and empirical evidence, not ideological wishlists.

One way to understand Samuelson is to know about the joy he took from his work. In a 2003 essay titled "How I Became an Economist," he ended with: "Always, I have been overpaid to do what has been pure fun."

He also wrote: "Never underestimate the vital importance of finding early in life the work that for you is play. This turns possible underachievers into happy warriors."

This is one of the enduring lessons he has left for generations of young people yet to come.

Michael Reksulak teaches economics and public finance in Georgia Southern University's College of Business Administration. He may be reached by e-mail at mreksula@georgiasouthern.edu.